Focus on what you are good at and be a success at that. There are far too many things that you are not good at.
I Suck As An Actor
I used to want to become an actor – I think it was mainly for the same reasons many people fancy their chances at it – for the money, the fame, the girls.
Unfortunately my love of it was simply a HEAD want and not a HEART one. I was alright at acting when I was younger, I had a few leading roles in the school play and one in an actually city theatre but I never pursued it after college. I might have wanted all the things that come with being a famous actor but I was not willing to put in the time or take the risk on making a serious go at it.
Just recently while I was in Thailand I had the opportunity to star in a TV commercial for Dog Food and so naturally I went to the audition and against all odds was picked for the role. I loved it, the setting, the people, being the centre of attention – Acting I though, was something I could really do.
Except for one small problem – I was useless. I hate cameras and prefer to be behind the lens then in front of it, I have trouble smiling naturally and I am pretty self conscious and unnaturally when a in front of the lens.
Basically I am an awful actor who would only be hired by a completely blind, death and dumb director and only then because of a moment of bad judgement.
I Suck At Other Things Too
Other things I would like to do but suck at Professionally -
- Lead singer of a rock band
- Extreme Sports World Champion
- Professional Footballer
- Pilot
- Marine Commander
- Marine Biologist Scuba Diver
The things is, there are a lot of things that I suck at but enjoy. I will never make any money out of them like some people do and so they are just hobbies for me. You can get stressed about this predicament or you can focus on what you ARE good at.
Where Do Your Talents Lie?
As an example, my personal talents lie in creativity, people skills and making money or put another way Creative, Emotional and Financial Intelligence.
I love and have made money through entrepreneurship and design and I plan to shelter my earnings by investing in Real Estate. To this end I focus my talents on being good at two things – Building Businesses and Buying Buildings. This is where I will make money and this is what will make me rich – It also has quite a nice ring to it.
I am sure I will make money and find a manner of success and happiness on other ventures of mine – as a freelance designer, journalist and photographer for example. However, these things will always be secondary to my core focus which again is:
Building Businesses and Buying Buildings.
Mind Your Own Business To Be Successful
There are many ways to make money and be a success but there are few that you will excel at. Don’t waste your time pursuing everything just because it has worked for someone else.
Work out what works for you and utilizes your passions and talents and focus on that. Everything else you do is a hobby and should be enjoyed as such – if you find success and additional money through it then great but this should not be the focus. Your hobbies are for your own personal enjoyment and happiness and should be treated as such.
That is why I do not monetise my blog or get involved in affiliation marketing – it is not where my wealth is generated and I do not plan to complete with the super blogs that are out there and I do not understand enough about SEO to give affiliation a real shot. I use my blog to explore my own thoughts, develop new relationships and to give to others. That is its reason for being – it is my hobby.
Find out what your one line plan of action is. Mine is Build Businesses and Buy Buildings. I repeat it to myself everyday and that is powerful in embedding it into my make up. My professional life is dedicated to Building Businesses and Buying Buildings, my hobbies are another thing completely.
Others would call this “Minding Your Own Business” Mined your business and what you are good at and don’t worry about the other persons businesses.
Shame to hear your acting career is over. You should talk to Colin about learning how to act. He’s terrible, but somehow keeps it real in front a camera
On to the point of your article: it’s pretty encouraging to hear about these things you suck at that you still like to do. That came out a little negative and sarcastic in typing it out. But I meant it genuinely. I will never be the singer of a rock band (if you don’t believe me you can see/hear me and tiger #2 singing karaoke here: http://instigationology.com/), but I let that fear of being terrible get in the way of me enjoying the activity (until I posted it on my blog and now the secret’s out).
So bravo! I am going to start stealing all kinds of pages from your book of life. Watch out.
Also: rock on the Building Businesses and Buying Buildings. An admirable goal to say the least!
Hi Kristin,
Love the way you sell out Colins acting ability, if he ever tries to sell it to me in the future I’ll know how to play it. I indeed suck at a lot of things but dammit if I am not gonna do it anyhow.
Steal away.
Great post Jonny…I can totally relate having tried and wanted to do all sorts of cool things (tried acting too). My greatest strength though lies in being a tech entrepreneur so this is what I’ve decided to focus on…
You probably have heard of a similar point about the 10,000 hour rule – basically that is takes about 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill. So I try to remember that too before diving deep into something – do I love this enough to spend the next 10 years working on it to accomplish something great? Cuz that’s how long it will probably take
Keep up the great posts!
Brian
Hi Brian,
Ahh the elusive acting career, we have all been there. The 10,000 rule was coined by Malcolm Gladwell was it not and it is true, you really need to be sure you are going to want to spend 6 hours a day for ten years to be excellent at it. Thats is also 6 quality hours, not just dead time. It’s a big commitment so better make it a lifelong goal. Kudos on your tutor business mate, things seem to be going well.
Sir, congrats for trying that acting part
Just kidding, great post and terrible advice!
Mate, nice work on the site…it is getting popular and I love your post on 34 ways to make money right now.
well mate we suck at some things and are good at others, im glad you finally had the opportunity to do the acting thing coz i would of never heard the end of it had you not of done it lol. and i got to go on set and meet that nice lass. Did you ever get the video of that?
However my good friend you are great at so many other things like procrastination and trying to be funny, im just messing with you. you have so many great qualities and skills that i cant help be be a little envious sometimes. the skill i admire most is your determination, your not afraid to do new things and to try them until you have perfected them or decided that its not for you. Its important that we know our strengths and develop them however it should never preclude us from exploring other avenues.
my friend your the best. Thanks
Cheers pal and no, they never sent me the video. Jackasses
Great post! I think the thing I am most talented at is acting (funny, huh?). That is the thing I feel I can really do well and that I am most excited about doing. I also have talent in real estate investing. Those are the two things I need to focus on. I tend to try to do a million things. You make a good point – focus on what I’m good at.
Hi Adrienne,
Sounds like you have a great potential setup. Earn you money through your passion of acting and then transfer and protect it through the vehicle of real estate. I wish you all the best with our plan, defintely let me know how you are doing and as I also have a great passion for real estate I would love to have a chat- – prehaps email me.